MFI Kitchen Installation

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February 3, 2004 at 3:25 pm #5177
BlueDan	Tim, First of all, many thanks for such an informative website, I have downloaded your installation guide and will have it to hand when I install my kitchen soon. You should have a helpline telephone number!! I have bought a new Hygena kitchen from MFI, I hope that it will be a simple job to put together and install. My question is “Infill Pieces”. When we had the plan designed, because of the width of the room, the best option was to have an equal gap each side of the 600mm cooker housing, this will leave a gap to allow heat to dissipate, but also means that the kitchen will look symetrical. The total gap is 88mm, therefore 44mm each side. Can you tell me the best way to fit these? My plan was to circular saw two lengths of custom fit panel the same height as the base units 44mm wide, and screw them to the base units each side flush with the fronts. Also, before I start what are the most important tools/accessories to have to hand? I am mostly concerned with getting the units all level and straight, as I cannot guarantee how straight my walls/floor are. One last question, am I correct in assuming that there is a small gap behind wall units? If so, is it best to run the cables for the pelmet light behind the wall units, and just drop it out where its needed for each strip light? Many Thanks in advance
February 5, 2004 at 7:24 pm #5189
timfoley	A helpline ? Never thought of this but if enough people thought one may be useful it’s something I would consider offering a couple of nights per week. I can just see it, the desperate hungry mouths hovering at the back of a caller who’s seeking urgent help to install the sink or oven. It’s a pressure but one I’d enjoy trying to relieve. Hygena cabinets employ two chipboard battens at the rear of the wall units and all wiring has to be completed before installation by chiselling out the plaster in the corresponding areas. This isn’t the case with the majority of manufacturers who do employ a gap at the rear that can be accessed with cable after installation. As for filler panels, to transfer the contours of the wall to which it is fitted is best achieved using a compass and masking tape. Cut the panel to the height of your unit, not including the plinth, over the finished width by around 50mm and present the cut edge up to the wall. Check the panel for plumb on the edged side and determine the overhang from the outside edge of the cabinet to the edged side of the panel. Set the compass to this measurement and scribe the panel ensuring tne compass remains at a right angle to the wall as you transfer the pencil mark. Before cutting with a downcut jigsaw blade, check that the measurement of the panel when cut is the same as the gap at a couple of chosen points. Attach a 50mm right angled piece to the rear of the panel, edged side, and fix using wood adhesive and agled brackets. Slide into position ensuring the panel is proud of the cabinet front edge to line up with doors then fix the panel through the cabinet behind the hinge plates. Finally use a decorating filler to fill any minor gaps between filler and wall.
February 10, 2004 at 2:28 pm #5203
BlueDan	Tim, Many Thanks for your help, but I think you misunderstood me, or I probably didn’t explain it properly in the first place! I am talking about when you have a run of base units between two corners and the room width is different to the total width of the units added together. For example, along the end wall of my kitchen there will be two corner units, and between these will be the 600mm oven housing. If I put the corner units the set distance away from the wall as instructed, and the oven housing centrally between the two I am left with a 44mm gap each side of the oven housing. I need to know the correct way of cutting and fitting two strips of “custom fit panel” to either the oven housing or the corner units. What are the best type of fixing to use on hollow plasterboard walls? There are so many out there I didn’t know if there was one clear favorite? And Finally…can you tell me what Diameter and Length screws I need to fix the units to the wall for: a. Base Units b. Wall Units Just a tip for anyone like myself about to embark on a kitchen project; The wasted space underneath the 600mm Oven Housing can be put to good use with B&Q’s under oven drawer set, which is £12. All you do is screw the facia onto the drawer and you have somewhere handy for your baking tins!
February 11, 2004 at 12:02 am #5204
timfoley	BlueDan, Sorry. I did misunderstand but the solution still works along the same principles. For continuity and for aesthetics you don’t want to break up the design by fitting what essentially are fillers, each side of your oven housing. To achieve this you will need to adapt your corner posts to account for the additional 44mm each side of the room. To do this use the custom panels to create new posts if necessary. To obtain a professional finish these are best cut using a table saw and the favourite piece of kit for this job with installers is a flip-over saw costing around £600. Bearing in mind that many visitors to this site and forum are attempting kitchen installation in their own property and have no intention of taking it up as a professional career, the best alternative is achieved using a circular saw remembering that the underside of the cut panel provides a spelch free finish. You can use a jigsaw if you don’t possess a circular but you will, in addition, need to plane the cut to obtain a good finish. With regard to the correct screws for both wall and base units, I would advise a minimum 50mm x 10′s guage and longer if the wall structure (dry lining), deems it necessary. My preference for heavy duty fixing to plasterboard are hollow wall anchors as shown by the link below. http://images.orgill.com/200×200/4555314.jpg
February 11, 2004 at 2:19 pm #5205
BlueDan	Sorry Tim, the example picture hasn’t worked. Dan
February 11, 2004 at 6:32 pm #5206
timfoley	BlueDan, The example image shows up clearly on our system. If other users could alert us to the same problem we’ll attempt to upload by another method. They are available at the large diy outlets and their description is a heavy duty hollow wall anchor. They are available in various lengths.
February 11, 2004 at 9:38 pm #5207
swifty	The picture is also missing on my PC
February 11, 2004 at 11:25 pm #5208
timfoley	Thanks Swifty. I’ve replaced the image with a link. Tim.
February 12, 2004 at 9:36 am #5209
BlueDan	Okay, got that picture now. Sometimes with hollow fixings, you can only use the screw provided with the fixing, which can be limiting. Sorry to be a real pain! Are you saying not to use the fillers each side of the oven, but to use the same 44mm fillers each side of the corner posts instead? Its a case of which will look the best. If the fillers are used at the corners, then the oven housing and two corner units will be held together more securely. Great Website, Great Advice, thankyou very much…I’m off to have a bash!
February 12, 2004 at 12:57 pm #5210
RobT	Just a final thought on MFI’s “Custom Fit Panel” We had a 23mm gap that needed bridging so they supplied us with a 2m “Custom Fit Panel”, a snip at £25! (Thats over £1 per mm)
February 12, 2004 at 2:12 pm #5211
timfoley	BlueDan, There are two ways of achieving this. Adapt both corner posts on one side to extend them to the required length (an extra 44mm) using matching material. or place the corner post 44mm closer to the wall so that it’s return front edge lies flush with the front edge of the return cabinet door. you will then need to install a 44mm matching filler beside the corner cabinet door and fix through the rear of the corner cabinet. The hollow wall anchors provide the best form of fixing to studded walls short of removing the plasterboard, cutting the studs sufficient depth and mounting a batten in the fixing area. (3″x1″) Thanks Rob. I’m sure you’ve generated a rush of custom fit panel orders at MFI now. Must be bespoke!
February 14, 2004 at 6:48 am #5222
miles	Blue Dan there is another option which means you do not need any infill panels. as your oven is in a run between two corner units i presume you must have a u shaped kitchen. so here is the option. the row of units that will include the sink, fix these 88mm further forward than you planned to. 88mm gap in oven unit run has now gone!! so no unsightly infill panels. obviously a 600 worktop will no longer fit on your run of units where the sink will be. so you need to buy a 900 worktop and rip it down to depth. the advantage of this way is ; more room between back of sink and wall, no infill panels, (my pet hate) and a kitchen which is more pleasing to the eye. i know this method is dearer but i guaruntee if you could see a kitchen with infill panels or a bigger worktop, you would choose the bigger worktop. a far more professional finish. hope this other option helps miles